The "Mega-Ofrenda"

Each year there is a large display on the Zócalo for the Day of the Dead which they call a "mega-ofrenda".  A couple of years ago the "mega-ofrenda" was taken down right after the Day of the Dead, and Alejandro and I never had a chance to see it.  This year, since the big parade was being held the Saturday AFTER the Day of the Day, I figured that they would keep the display up for a longer period of time.  (You may remember that when we went downtown the weekend before Day of the Dead, they were still setting it up.)

I wasn't going to take any chances, however, and last Friday I took a quick trip downtown to the Zócalo.  Then on Sunday, Alejandro and I went downtown again.  Fortunately, the "mega-ofrenda" was still in place, and he had an opportunity to see it.

The display was dominated by a very large figure of Pancho Villa, one of the heroes of the Mexican Revolution of 1910.

This year is the centennial of Pancho Villa's death.  He was often referred to as the "Centaur of the North", so he is represented here as a centaur (in the form of a skeleton, of course).

Around Pancho Villa are smaller skeletons representing the men and women who fought in the Revolution.

The railroad played an important role in transporting troops across the country, and the steam locomotive has become a symbol of the Revolution.  At the other end of the Zócalo a marigold-decorated replica of an old-time train was set up.

The box car was an "ofrenda" in honor of Pancho Villa, which included many historic photos of the "Centaur of the North".

The famous photo of Villa and Emiliano Zapata when in the National Palace when their troops marched into Mexico City.

It was fortunate that Alejandro got to see the "mega-ofrenda" on Sunday, because when I looked at the webcam of the Zócalo on Monday, it was already gone.